Musician and actor MARTIN KEMP knows this much is true: he is now a huge fan of cruising

AS ROCK star travel clichés go, it was up there with the best of them. I was on a sun-lounger with a cocktail in hand and huge shades on, as a light sea breeze brought on a salty, cooling air.

No, I was not dreaming of appearing in a pop video - but on my private balcony on a cruise ship, and life was wonderful.

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A few weeks earlier I'd been less convinced. A cruise wasn't my first choice of holiday, although my wife Shirlie had always wanted to set sail.

I was keen to spend quality time with my family before heading off on a Spandau Ballet tour of Australia. Shirlie had reasoned that a cruise would be ideal. We could fly with British Airways to Los Angeles, where we could spend a week before boarding the ship.

At the port, I was amazed by how huge the Sapphire Princess was. I craned my neck upwards, counting the decks until I got to 11 or 12 and the top of the vessel disappeared into the sky.

On board, we were shown straight to our cabin, which seemed almost as big as the ship itself.

A Grand Suite, it was tastefully furnished in a modern style with neutral shades, had separate living quarters and bedroom, two TVs, a computer and a large double balcony that spanned both rooms.

Our daughter Harley, 21, travelled with us and although she was in a smaller cabin, it was to a similar high standard.

Our itinerary saw us spend our first two days at sea before taking in three ports of call on the Mexican Riviera before returning to LA. I'd been a little concerned about not having enough to do on those two days but I needn't have worried.

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One of the things that struck me about our cruise was that you could choose the holiday you wanted. If we'd been with our children when they were younger, we could have spent more time in the busy mid-ship section, where there are shops, children's areas, pools and lots of plush bars and restaurants.

Instead, I worked out in the gym while Shirlie and Harley were pampered in the Lotus Spa, and I lounged in the afternoons.

At night, we'd take an early evening meal in the Santa Fe Dining Room, where the food is modern American, or Sabatini's, a more traditional Italian affair.

While a host of other restaurants serve buffet food, in those two and the Sterling Steakhouse you pay a surcharge, which makes the dining more exclusive and sophisticated.

We avoided the after-dinner shows as they aren't really my thing, and let our body clocks dictate our day so had plenty of early nights.

However, guests we spoke to were impressed with the staged entertainment, as they were with the two formal dining nights. We attend a lot of black-tie dinners at home so on holiday I am more of a shortsby-day, white-trousers-by-night type of guy. Curiosity got the better of us on one night though and we took a peek at the guests all dolled up - they all looked very glamorous.

The ship made port in three places: Puerto Vallarta, a fishing village that became an international resort after John Huston filmed The Night Of The Iguana there; Mazatlán, a traditional Mexican city; and Cabo San Lucas, a great beach resort. We didn't get to spend much time at each but it was good to have a walk around.

Of the three destinations, my favourite was Puerto Vallarta but I struck gold in Cabo. I miss football when I'm away but I found a bar there showing a Champions League game between Arsenal and Barcelona. I sat with a cold beer, eating enchiladas and was the only person in sight supporting Arsenal. It raised a few eyebrows but the Mexican lads were great fun.

By the time we left the Sapphire Princess for the last time, Shirlie and I were already planning our next cruise to Alaska.

When I finally arrived in Australia I was relaxed, tanned and ready to go. I told the rest of the band about our enjoyable trip. So if you're on a cruise over the next few months, keep an eye out for Tony, Gary, Steve and John.

You may be able to play a cruise version of Where's Wally? . . . but with members of Spandau Ballet instead.

Martin was talking to JAMES ELLIS

THE KNOWLEDGE:
Princess Cruises (0845 355 5800/ www.princess.com) offers a nine-night Mexican Riviera cruise on board the Sapphire Princess from £1,349pp (two sharing), full board.

Price includes return flights to Los Angeles, pre-cruise stay in LA and transfers. For departures during April, 2011.